One Piece's The Elbaf Arc is deeply connected to the gods and goddesses contained within One Piece world. This was made clear to us right from the beginning of the arc, when, in One Piece Chapter 1138, the story of Harley was revealed to us for the very first time. As more chapters passed, Eiichiro Oda revealed to us different eras of the One Piece world, and special importance was given to certain gods, such as the sun god Nika.
One Piece's The Elbaf Arc also saw the descent of the Devil God Nerona Imu in Chapter 1179 on April 5, 2026, and now it has confirmed another God from the Void Century in its latest edition of One Piece Chapter 1188 July 12, 2026 This God is none other than the Forest God, whose abilities connect him directly to the King of the World, Imu himself.
One Piece Chapter 1188 officially teases the return of the Forest God through Nerona Imu
On July 12, 2026, One Piece Chapter 1188 showed quite a few abilities in Nerona Imu after he defeated Loki in battle and started taking on Luffy instead. In the fight against Imu, Luffy used Gear 5 straight away, and much to the surprise of fans, he was unable to land a single hit on him. All of his powerful blows, even those coated in the supreme king's color, the ultimate form of Haki, were blocked by Nerona Imu quite easily and countered effectively. Luffy took quite a few powerful hits, but it wasn't until the end of the chapter that he was defeated.
“What happened? I was able to land my hit much easier earlier!” — Monkey D. Luffy, confused by Imu's sudden power, One Piece Chapter #1188
To beat Luffy, Imu used the Blade of Nothingness: Vohu, which possesses immense powers far beyond anyone's understanding. Using the power of Vohu, Imu immediately began sucking the life out of an entire forest and withering it. An entire branch of the Adam Tree was immediately cleared of all life, and moments later, at the end of Chapter 1188, Imu used this blade to strike down Monkey D. Luffy, the world's current Sun God Nika.
Imu: Blade of Nothingness: Whoo!
Luffy: What? The forest withered away!
Imu: The view is much clearer now.
Luffy: Same from here!
— Imu uses Vohu to defeat Luffy, One Piece Chapter #1188
While the small details may have fallen under the radar of some fans, it is interesting to note that Nerona Imu was able to drain life from the forests of the world. Likewise when Imu arrived at Elbaf in One Piece Chapter 1179 on April 5, 2026, which was published in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #19, it was clear for all of us to see that the forest around Imu was beginning to take on a life of its own. Yet no other object was given this life. This suggests a deep connection between Nerona Imu and the forest. Tying it directly to the Harley texts officially revealed in One Piece Chapter 1138 on February 3, 2025, it becomes a solid suggestion that Nerona Imu is the same forest god revealed from Void Century and known to have existed in the other world.
Why the forest god stands as a mighty god at the top of the world government
The forest god standing on top of the world government makes perfect sense. To understand why that is, fans need only take a look at the Harley lyrics. In these Harley texts it is said that the other world began with a breath in nothingness. Tying this in with One Piece Chapter 1188, we can clearly see that Imu uses the same power when I use the Blade of Nothingness: Vohu. The term used for “Nothing” is the same in the Harley text and in Imu's attack. The fact that Imus' Blade of Nothingness withers away an entire forest suggests that he has a monopoly on forests and life in general. This may also explain why Imu can grant eternal life to those who follow him by using various covenants, such as the Holy Knights and the Five Elders.
“Within Nothing was breath. The forest god tamed the demons, and the sun spread the fires of war. Those of the crescent dreamed. Those of the moon dreamed. Man killed the sun and became God, and the sea god stormed. And they will never meet again.” — The Harley Texts' first mention of the Forest God, One Piece Chapter #1138
Meanwhile, Harley also states in The Second World that the Forest God sent out demons. This also aligns perfectly with Nerona Imu, as through his ability he can send out the Five Elders as well as the Holy Knights, all of whom are repeatedly referred to as Demons. In One Piece Chapter 1187, which was officially released on July 5, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #32, Roronoa Zoro officially calls the group of World Government fighters in Elbaf “the Three Demons”, further cementing the fact that it is Imu who stands atop the World God as the World Government. The Forest God is clearly not an ally of the Sun God, and the perfect fit for this Void Century God is none other than Imu himself.
“You are one of the three demons. You are the ones who ruined a party between good old friends. My comrade is on his way to the village, so I don't think yours will come back because he will be dead.” — Zoro refers to Imu and his knights as demons, One Piece Chapter #1187
One Piece will reveal more gods after the Elbaf arc
With Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Pieceheavily hinting that Nerona Imu is the Forest God of the Void Century, fans are eagerly awaiting more revelations of the God to come after the events of the Elbaf arc. Right now the sun god Nika has already been revealed to us, along with Elbaf's war god Loki. The rain god Zaza was also teased One Piece Chapter 1182 of May 10, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #24, and Nerona Imu might just be the world's forest god. That leaves behind the earth god, whose identity is yet to be revealed.
At the same time, there are other characters that existed in the world of One Piece long ago, such as the serpent of Hellfire, who cooperated with the earth god, who has not yet been revealed. Eiichiro Oda will likely shed some light on these individuals in the events following the Elbaf arc, and we absolutely cannot wait to see what the writer of the series comes up with. For now, all our focus is on the climax of Elbaf, which will once again pit the sun god Nika against the king of the world and potential forest god, Nerona Imu. Although the former has already been defeated, fans are eagerly waiting to see Luffy resurface and, most importantly, power up further to bring out the true extent of Sun God Nika's powers. The upcoming chapters of One Piece will be an exciting journey, and we can't wait to see the next development in the story.
All the new One Piece manga chapters by Eiichiro Oda are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.
